Stratford

Today’s the day when the Paralympic flame comes to Waltham Forest just before it moves on to the Olympic Stadium for the opening of the Paralympic Games.
The Paralympic flame will start its route at the Lea Valley Ice centre then go up Lea Bridge Road and right into Orient Way to the new Jubilee Park (the former Marsh Lane Playing Fields) in Leyton, which will be officially opened tonight.

There will be a fun fair in Jubilee Park, food and drink and local acts. The event is open 5-9pm and the torch is expected at 7.30pm. You don’t need tickets and entrance to the park is free.

If you have tickets to the Paralympic Games and your travel instructions advise using Eton Manor Gate (the nearest entrance to Leyton), see this page for directions to Eton Manor Gate. I’ve ahd a report that Eton Manor gate is not open for the Opening ceremony. Do follow the advice from the Paralympic Games (London 2012) though.

If you’re travelling from outside the borough see the right hand margin and foot of this page for links and travel updates from Transport for London and the Highways Agency.

Maps of the Olympic Park

Olympic Park on Google Maps (If you don’t know the area, beware, some people have tried to gain a marketing advantage by marking up the Olympic Stadium wrongly on Google Maps, the correct location is near to Stratford Station).

Above: Velodrome and Basketball arena

If you’re going to the Olympic Park and are worried about the crowds at Stratford, don’t forget you can also use the Eton Manor Gate on Eastway (near Spitalfields).

Get off at Leyton tube and walk down Ruckholt Road or through the Leyton Mills trading estate past Asda.

It’s about 15 minutes’ walk from Leyton tube, or you can get the W15 bus from Leytonstone tube station (Leytonstone Plaza side) to Eastway (or the W14 to Ruckholt Road then walk about 5 minutes).

Eton Manor Gate is the nearest gate from Leytonstone to the Velodrome, BMX Track, Basketball arena, Riverbank Arena and Copperbox and the bandstand and Park Live screen, but is the opposite end of the Olympic Park to the Stadium and Aquatics Centre. It’s a good 20 minute walk from Eton Manor Gate to the Stadium, but a very pleasant one along the river and newly planted parkland.

Maps of the Olympic Park

Olympic Park on Google Maps (If you don’t know the area, beware, some people have tried to gain a marketing advantage by marking up the Olympic Stadium wrongly on Google Maps, the correct location is near to Stratford Station).

Above: Velodrome and Basketball arena

If you’re going to the Olympic Park and are worried about the crush at Stratford, don’t forget you can also use the Eton Manor Gate on Eastway (near Spitalfields).

Get off at Leyton tube and walk down Ruckholt Road or through the Leyton Mills trading estate past Asda and the pop-up food market on Marshall Road.

It’s about 15 minutes’ walk from Leyton tube, or you can get the W15 bus from Leytonstone tube station (Leytonstone Plaza side) to Eastway (or the W14 to Ruckholt Road then walk about 5 minutes).

Eton Manor Gate is the nearest gate from Leytonstone to the Velodrome, BMX Track, Basketball arena, Riverbank Arena and Copperbox and the bandstand and Park Live screen, but is the opposite end of the Olympic Park to the Stadium and Aquatics Centre — though a pleasant walk along the river and newly planted parkland.

Maps of the Olympic Park

Olympic Park on Google Maps (If you don’t know the area, beware, some people have tried to gain a marketing advantage by marking up the Olympic Stadium wrongly on Google Maps, the correct location is near to Stratford Station).

Westfield Stratford City has sent a message out saying that it will have restricted opening today (Friday 3 August) and tomorrow (Saturday 4 August), because of the Olympics, so if you were thinking of shopping or going to a restaurant there — choose Leytonstone instead!

This is the email from Westfield:

“Games Organisers, including LOCOG, TfL and the Metropolitan Police, are implementing managed access to Westfield Stratford City for the high demand Games days, today Friday 3rd August, and Saturday 4th August.On these days, all Olympic Park venues will be operational resulting in a large increase in the number of Olympic Games visitors.To assist with the smooth running of the Games, Westfield is working with the Games organisers to allow Centre access to accredited personnel, hospitality visitors and Games ticket holders only between the hours of 10.30am and 5.00pm on these two busy days.Outside these hours, Westfield Stratford City’s shops will be open to all visitors until 11.00pm and restaurants and leisure until 12:30am.Extended trading hours will resume on Sunday 5th August with all shops open until 11:00pm and restaurants and leisure until 12:30am.”

Maps of the Olympic Park

Olympic Park on Google Maps (If you don’t know the area, beware, some people have tried to gain a marketing advantage by marking up the Olympic Stadium wrongly on Google Maps, the correct location is near to Stratford Station).

Get Ahead of the Games daily travel reminders

Download the Get Ahead of the Games calendar for daily travel reminders.

Other travel links

See the right hand column and the bottom of this page for other travel links and travel feeds from Transport for London and the Highways Agency.

Tickets

There are still some tickets available, but you have to order them online, you can’t just turn up at the park and buy them on the spot. Beware of people trying to resell tickets or selling tickets through unauthorised sources: you almost certainly won’t get in with a ticket you’ve bought through an unauthorised source and may be committing a criminal offence!

Leyton Food Stalls

Waltham Forest Council has created a special international food market on Marshall Road, near to Leyton tube station and the Olympic Park.

The market runs from 27 July to 9 September and is offering 30 hot and cold food hall stalls, run mainly by local restaurants and café owners. The market has been established in partnership with North London Business and Skateco UK.

The old Leyton Town Hall has also opened as a pop-up pub Leyton Technical , run by the Antic Group, which runs the Red Lion in Leytonstone and other pubs around London.

The main road impact for Leytonstone is that the A12 (M11 link road) has a Games Lane right down to and including the Blackwall Tunnel and A13, the roads around Stratford town centre, the new road north of the Olympic village, Temple Mills Lane, Ruckholt Road, and parts of High Road Leyton are all affected. As well as Games Lanes, some roads will be subject to closure. For example, there’s no entry to the A12 from the Green Man Roundabout from 23 July, operating from 0600-1100 each day until 14 August, then again for the Paralympic Games between 27 August until 11 September.

If you are leaving the M11, the Wanstead/Redbridge roundabout exit is affected but the London NE/Walthamstow exit does not appear to be.

The Games Lanes are sometimes on the left, sometimes in the middle, sometimes dedicated lanes, and sometimes shared with bus lanes.

Some restrictions are only temporary, so if you find you can drive freely one day, that may not apply at another time: do beware as the fine for using a Games Lane is £130!

There are also lots of other useful links about the Olympics and how they affect Leytonstone on the Olympics 2012 page.

See the bottom of each page on this website for other useful transport links including live feeds from eg the Highways Agency.

From this week (5 July 2012) St John the Baptist Church in the centre of Leytonstone is offering sunset tours of the tower every Thursday evening.

From one of the highest points in London the tours combine the chance to enjoy the stunning panorama towards the Olympic Park, Greenwich, Canary Wharf, central London and Epping Forest.

Refreshments will be available and each tour will also be entertained by local professional musicians. Times will vary according to the season and to coincide with the sunset, so please check the church website for details of opening and how to book. Full price tickets are £12.50, concessions are also available.

The church which is just one minute’s walk from Leytonstone tube station on the Central Line (Zone 3) also has free weekly lunchtime concerts and a churchyard trail.

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This site is no longer being updated

November 2013:
This site is no longer being regularly updated as I have moved from Leytonstone. I hope you have enjoyed using this site. A lot of text and pictures will still be relevant for a long time to come but please check other information in case it is out of date.